Posts: 702
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Home Port: Kings Park, NY
Vessel Info: 2003 38' Open Cummin's 6CTA's (450 hp)
Several things can cause a musty smell... Check to ensure the condensation pan is clean and empty.... Also ensure the drain from the pan is open allowing collected water to be removed... Second the A/C condenser fins may need cleaning.... I use an aerosol spray that I purchased from an HVAC business that is used just for that purpose... M2C
Posts: 47
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Home Port: Ohio River
Vessel Info: 2000 Tiara 3500 Express. Factory Hardtop. Cummins 6BT 5.9 Freshwater Only. Previous Boston Whaler Conquest.
We have a 2000 3500 Express with twin Cummins and two AC units but if we run two 30 amp cords from the dock pod, it blows the dock pod breakers. If I run one 30 amp cord with a splitter and turn off the hot water tank, everything runs fine. If I run on the Westerbeke diesel generator, I can run everything. We've been trying to figure this out all summer. I almost think a previous owner changed something in the panel.
Mike
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Home Port: Newport
It 'blows the dock pod breakers'
How does it blow them? Overcurrent or RCD/GFCI? If you don't understand the difference between these, that is the first step.
Overcurrent means it is drawing more than the rated current (30A). RCD/GFCI means that there is unequal current between the hot & netural wires. These 'residual current devices' or 'ground fault circuit interrupters' go by other names as well and they are a very recent addition to US dockside power pedestals. They have been added to increase safety by decreasing the chances of death by electrocution. However, many older boats were not design/wired for to be compatible with these devices. It is likely that this is your problem. You can tell whether it is blowing for overcurrent or RCD by looking at the breaker after it is tripped. Different breakers show the 'why' differently, but you can compare the 'blown' state to how it looks when using the 'test' button on the breaker (which is testing the RCD, not the overcurrent).
My guess is that the neutral busses for your two shore cords are tied together somewhere on the boat. They should be separate. This is allowing some current from 'line 1' to leak to the neutral of 'line 2' (or vice-versa). If I'm not making any sense to you with any of this, then your best bet is to call a marine electrician and ask him how familiar he is with correcting nuisance tripping of older boats plugged into new pedestals w/RCD's. It can be tricky to track down the problem but based on what you've said, I bet it is fairly straightforward in your case.
